Letter to the Editor: Veterans Memorials In Need of Preservation

By Jim Uhlik

We here in Castro Valley have been working for several years now on building and have struggled getting there. But with the help of the public and other veterans we are now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As veterans we are very much aware of how hard it is to get funding for these memorials and what they mean to us.

I believe that the preservation of these existing memorials such as the one I had the opportunity to visit recently, the USS Iowa BB-61 in Richmand, Calif., soon to be moved to San Pardeo Calid. is not just a tribute to what man can achieve and build, but also to the brave men who served in and on board her. These types of memorials are in need of our help — not only to preserve them for the future so as we never forget our past — but to say thank you to those who served in and on them and to those who gave up their lives so we may have a future.

These large memorials such as the USS Iowa, USS Midway located in San Diego, Calif. and many more across the U.S. and indeed in our on Bay Area are in need of our help. Just as the ones that flew such as the war birds of the past (B-17 flying fortress) these too need our help.

The Iowa will only be here a short while before she is moved down south and it would be such a waste if you don’t get a chance to go see her. She may not look like her old self right now but the pride is still there and with your help she can leave here a lot better looking than when she arrived.

She is open on weekends only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there is a $10 donation fee. She is located off I-580 and Harbor Way, in Richmond, Calif.

This is our heritage I am talking about here, and the youth of today must not forget what this great country was founded on and the land does speak to all of us. That includes our Civil War battle grounds as well; it speaks of who we are and where we came from and where we need to go.

So please support these sites and memorials whenever possible because they need our help and we need them!